Utility truck body



April 28, 1953 J. J. POWERS UTILITY TRUCK BODY 2 SHEETS--SHEET l Filed NOV. 25, 1951 @aus INVENTOR.

JOHN J. POWERS April 28, 1953 J. J. POWERS 2,636,717

UTILITY TRUCK BODY Filed NOV. 23. 1951 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 35 im; j@

IN VEN TOR.

JOHN J. POWERS BY Www/r Patented pr. 28, F`1953 s f `UNITED STATES PATENT oI-FlclrN UTILITY TRUCK BODY John J. Powers, University City, Mo.

Application November 23, 1951, Serial No. 257,805

This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in utility vehicles and, more particularly, to a utility truck-body suitable for general all-purpose field Work and outlying and remotely located public utility systems, such as small rural electric distribution companies and the like.

In large metropolitan areas, the public utility systems are highly developed and relatively compact, so that various different types of maintenance crews can be constantly employed for a variety of specialized or departmentaliacd tasks and duties. In such public utility systems, it is not only convenient, but highly expedient, to maintain transformer repair crews, new-line installation crews, household maintenance and repair crews, and many diiierent kinds of special maintenance groups, each group or crew being equipped with its own special type of vehicle or truck, carrying tools and equipment suitable to the particular type of tasks carried out by such crew. This highly complicated maintenance organization is not at all feasible or economical for small utility systems, such as those which are situated throughout the rural areas of the country. Even in large, highly integrated public utility systems there frequently are remotely located areas to which it is not economically desirable to send highly specialized maintenance crews, with the result that it isv necessary to maintain a small all-purpose maintenance crew in such area. In order to equip such crews, it is desirable to provide a workvehicle which is equipped with a derrick and more or less universally adaptable winch, together with necessary tool space 'and working space on the truck floor, so that the unit will lend itself readily to all types and conditions of maintenance work ordinarily encountered in the eld.

It is, therefore. the primary object of the present invention to provide `a vehicle having an all-purpose or general utility body uniquely suitable for meeting and handling all types of maintenance jobs ordinarily encountered in the field.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body of the type stated which is equipped with a derrick, winch, and other similar equipment suitable for utility maintenance operations.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a truck-body which is equipped with a simple, and yet sturdy, type of derrick capable of being swung from inoperative position to 2 Claims. (Cl. 254--139.1)

operative position in a simple, convenient, andY speedy manner.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a truck-body having a derrick and winch so arranged that the floor of the truck will, at all times, be clear and available as working space and will not subject the workman to the hazard of becoming entangled in the winch cable or in the Winch mechanism itself. i

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body of the type stated which is rugged, durable, and relatively inexpensive, while, at the same time, being readily adaptable to all-purpose utility maintenance work.

With the above and other objects in View, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings (two sheets):

Figure l is a fragmentary side elevational View of a derrick truck constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a rear end elevational view of the derrick truck;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along line ll--4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary diagrammatic top plan view of the rear end of the truck-body, illustrating the various different ways in which the winch cable may be employed in actual practice;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the rear corner of the truck-body, showing in more detail the construction of thewinch cable guiding pulleys; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line '1 -'I of Figure 2.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, A generally designates a truck having a cab-and-engine unit I conventionally :mounted upon a rearwardly extending chassis 2.. It will be understood that the cab-and-engine unit l and chassis 2 are of any conventional type or design and, therefore, need not be specically aesaviv and conventionally provided in their outwardly presented faces with swingably mounted doors 6, 1, for affording ready access to the compart- Inentalized interiors of the side panels d, 5. As Will be seen by reference to Figure 2, the side panels 4, 5, extend along the longitudinal margins of the truck-body 2 in spaced parallel relation, thereby providing an intermediate working space 8 having a flat horizontal floor 9. Hinged ato, "and extending transversely "across, the rearfmargin Tof theiioor a'betweeni'the side panels 4, 5, is a tailgate lil, serving as an end closure for the otherwise open rear end of the truck-body B.

At its forward end, the door il is cut away and provided upon its outer face with Aaniarcuately depending or underslung well il, sized for accommodating substantially a conventional cable winch i2. Removably secured in covereiorming relation over the well lh'ror enclosing and corn- `pietely-:concealing andjprotecting the winch i E is a rectilinear box-like cover ifi. .Welded or otherwisesuitably.secured .upon .the under face o.:th.eoor19 .and extending longitudinally rearwardly along the center-.linelthereoi is atunnel.- like-channel yllt-opening at its orwardend into the Ewell 'il anduatitszrearward end uponthc back .-.end ;or the truck-body .VB -just below the tailgate yiliorhousing andenclosing the rearwardly extending run of a winch cable i5.

The.-rear:end 'of .the chassis 2 isprovided 'with horizontally projecting arms l5 vfor supporting a transverselyl extending .channel-shaped bump-- er-bar .il having an upwardly .presented broad fiat toppfa-ce lit-the central-.portion of whichilies directly :beneath t the .rearward .opening of the channel 441. jVielded fupon .the upper face i@ l0f thebumper-bar l? .andzupon therearward racen-inthe .truck .bcdy:B,-.directly below the tail gate lil, is a pair of oppositely presented if shapedgplates i'p, havingzspaced, parallel vertical leg-,plates `ill Vof somewhat-.triangular shape for :supporting a .removable `pin 22. iuitably journaled .upon fa horizontally '.dispcsed pintle 2'3 withinLtherearrcross-heam 213.01 the truck body 2, just above the rearward opening .ofthe channel l, is .a vertical.pulley 25.around which the winch cable i5 `may he trained upwardly, for purposes presently lmore .fully appearing. Similarly mounted on the opposite sides ofthe channeli, between the plates le, '26, and vthe upper. plate it of .the'bumper-bar il, `arerhorizontallyfdisposed. central pulleys 2K5 ,11215; andcorner Ipulleys 2t, 219, which arepositioned :outwardly by a suiiicient distance so as to clear the outwardly .presented vertical :surfaces ,of vthe truck-.body B, :all tas best seen. in .Figure 6. yThe winch cable l5 may accordingly be traineed directly rearwardly between the pulleys 2S, 2l, or angularly'f-to 4one side or the. other, .or completely crosswise and angularly aroundeither one of ythe corner pulleys 2.8, 29, to vbe directed toward .the front, all Jas-schematically shownin dotted lines in Figure .5. .These various positions vof the winch cable Il 5 mayv be quickly lachieved :byfremoving Ithe pin 22 sand pulling rthe winch cable out in the .desired direction. When '.however, theI winch-.cable d5 is: directed .upwardly,'.a's shown inl i Figure f 6, thetpin :2.2, ini` co+operation with the spacedparallel leg-plates 2i, will serve :to Yprevent `the Winch vcable l5 .from .unauthorzedly slhiingoithe pulleyi25.

.It shouldl "eestated, .in .this tconnecti'on, zthat the .ffwinch taisdrivenfand controlled byafconventonal `.zpower .takeeoi .iassernbim operativelyconnected, through suitable manual controls, to the engine or motor of the truck A. Inasmuch as this driving arrangement is conventional, it has not been illustrated, shown, or described herein.

Welded to, and extending upwardly from, the upper transverse margin of the front wall 3 is an inverted U-shaped support frame 30 having a horizontal cross-bar `:il positioned at a level 'substantially above the' roof: of' the truck-body A and provided, at -suitably "spaced intervals, with upwardly extending pairs of bracket-forming pins 32 for embracingly receiving tubular der- .rick-legsl 33, which are hingedly mounted at their rearward ends in hinge-littings 34 Welded upon the rearward upper corners of the side panels 4,

5. .The derriclflegs-. extend convergingly toward each other and are rigidly secured together by aItop-iitting 35 having spaced parallel legs 3l, for operatively isupporting a pulley 38. When the: derricle-legs 33: are: not.` in .useptheyiwill extend from A.the hinge-fitting .ftrifangularly upwardly and forwardly .betweenithebracket pins `asrshownin dottedlines in. Figure .1.

W eldedjiolted, or otherwisermly secured upon the .upper :forward .corners ofthe :side panelsilg': 5, are guy-retainer fittings 39 integrallyincludingfa c ntalgplate element dit, `the #rearwardimargin ,of ywhich is curved zupwardly vupon itself in theiormationofl twoptransversely spaced hooks di having .la spaceorslot fit therebetween .fior adj ustably receiving ;,and retaining -the links of a 'taibchain d3,whichris,lin1turn, rigidly frastened atoneend .to a'guyeca'ble 414 permanently secured, at .its :opposite lend, Ato :the atop-flitting As willhe seen byreerence":to :Figures .23 and d, any. one.of 'ithellinksiof the chainf'lmay he engaged within .the Lslot .e2,so"that:thelnext lower link will be :retentivelygcaught crosswise against and within.V the' hoolrsl'llI l Byrthis imeans, the ovierall.eiectivelength .of theirguy-'ca'bles 4i .may he .adjusted so Lthat theirea'rwardly inclined angular kposition .of the -rderricklegs "can libe adjusted within :predeterminedllimits *when 1 disposed iniupright oroperativerpositionfasl shown in full lines inliligurell.

The derrickfl'egs 33 -are eachprovidedwitha small :pair for. spaced 'paralllearstE'rorsupportw ing transverse pins 5, Iextending through the uppermost .linkof a''guy-chain vlll which extends angularly '.downward'ly, Iwhen the I derrick-legsl'S are in uprightpositionforahooked engagement with rthe upper tendy of falguy--chain 58, rlsimilarly fastenedsatits lower end toa ipin-fiemounted between .spaced "parallellpairs of .1 ear-s Eil 'welded upon ,the .cuter i or .corner ends foffthe rear `beam 2G. Each .guy-chain-xill lcan `be connected 1 with its .corresponding :guy-chain llt 1by Vhooking fait any .one .of .several .selected links, viso `that Ithe combined links of the guy-chains tl, 48, can be suitably adjusted '..for the f. selected angular :position of thederrick-legs't. it willffurthermore,

be noted, byzreferencetorligures .1LandiZ,that

when the derrick-.legsL3'fareinauprightposition,

thewinchpcable :i zmayahezii'ained 'singularly'- upwardly over the pulley 38 and swung dependingly` ward the front and attached to some tree trunk or permanently secured heavy object, such as a bridge abutment or the like, for permitting the truck., through the agency of its winch I2, to pull itself out of the mud or out of a soft roadside embankment whenever necessary.

The derrick-legs 33 may be swung from inoperative to operative position very quickly and may conveniently be set up to various desired angles by -a single workman, and, when set up in operative position, Will be strongly and rigidly held in such operative position by the link adjustable guy-cable 44 and the correspondingly adjustable sets of guy-chains 41, 48. Furthermore, the winch cable I5 may be used in con junction with the winch l2 while a workman is standing or working upon the oor 9 of the truck-body B without danger of catching his feet or catching tools and other parts which may be laying upon the floor 9.

It should be understood that changes and modiiications in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the utility truck-body may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described niy invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patents is- 1. In a utility truck, a door, a transverse forward end wall and spaced parallel side panels arranged to form a truck-body having a substantially open top and rear end, a hinge iitting rigidly mounted on each side panel adjacent the rear end and in upwardly spaced relationto the floor, a derrick leghingedly mounted at one end in each hinge fitting, said derrick legs converging toward each other and being connected at their other ends in the provision of a two-legged V- shaped derrick frame, a relatively long guy-inember attached to each derrick leg, means on the truck-body for releasably engaging each of said long guy-members, a short guy-member secured to each derrick leg, means for releasably engaging the short guy-members in the provision of a twolegged derrick stabilized by four downwardly and outwardly diverging guy-members, a depressed well formed in the oor adjacent the forward wall, a winch operatively mounted in the well, a longitudinally extending tunnel formed on the under side of the oor opening at its forward end into the well and on its rearward end upon. the rear end of the truck-body, and a derrick-cable wound on the winch and extending rearwardly through the tunnel.

2. in a utility truck, a floor, a transverse forward end wall and spaced parallel side panels arranged to form a truck-body having a substantially open top and rear end, a hinge fitting rigidly mounted on each. side panel adjacent the rear end and in upwardly spaced relation to the floor, a derrick leg hingedly mounted at one end in each hinge fitting, said derricl: legs converging toward each other and being connected at their other ends in the provision of a two-legged V-shaped derrick. frame, a relatively long guy-member attached to each derrick leg, means on the truck body for releasably engaging each of said long guyrnembers, a short guy-meinber secured to each derrick leg, means :for releasably engaging the short guy-members in the provision of a two-legged derriok stabilized by four downwardly and outwardly diverging guy-members, a depressed well formed in the floor adjacent the forward wall, a winch operatively mounted in the well, a longitudinally extending tunnel formed on the under side of the floor opening at its forward end into the well and on its rearward end upon the rear end of the truck-body, a first pulley rotatably mounted at the rear end of the truck-body in alignment with the tunnel, a second pulley operatively mounted on the upper end of the derrick, and a derrick-cable wound on the winch and extending rearwardly through the tunnel, said cable extending around said first and second pulleys and thence downwardly for securement to a load.

JOHN J. POWERS.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,284,812 Strait Nov. l2, 1918 1,476,627 Luebke et al Dec. 4, 1923 1,892,411 Segimon Dec. 27, 1932 2,016,130 Wren Oct. 1, 1935 2,257,873 Troche Oct, 7, 1941 2,593,764 Kaunitz Apr. 22, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 195,360 Great Britain Oct. 11, 1923 

